Why CD's Just Might Sound Better Than Vinyl

lolobugg

MedozK said:

PJ_Soul said:

MedozK said:

I have been sucked into the "Gotta Find the Best Sounding Pressing" of certain albums, and I have a lot more luck finding great sounding CD pressings than LP. There is a lot of trial and error with LPs, especially looking for vintage masterings that are in great shape.

I've personally had way WAY more probs with CDs because of skipping issues. So many CDs have flaws/scratches on them in my experience, even when they look fine, whereas I've found that to be very rare with vinyl assuming the vinyl looks to be in good shape. And i always treated my CDs well. I wasn't one of those people to chuck them around or pile them up outside of their cases or anything.

I understand, I have had issues with CDs as well... its just easier to get over spending $20 on a rare W. German Target pressing than $200 on a vintage vinyl that looks to be in good shape, but plays with groove distortion and sounds like pop corn popping during quiet sections.

Again, I Love both formats. They are what I do my active listening with.

yeah, used vinyl is a gamble.
I have gotten some excellent sounding ones and then terrible
I bought the German pressing of T Rex "Electric Warrior" a few years ago and it was unlistenable.
sometimes you can't tell just by visually inspecting the record.

HughFreakingDillon

brianlux said:

The CD vs vinyl argument cracks me up... like reading an article (which I did and it's interesting enough) is going to change how your ears transmit sound to your brain?

Still a vinyl fan... but that's just my ears and my brain. We're all different.

I don't think anyone is out to change anyone's mind on preference. like the article stated very clearly, it all comes down to personal taste. most of these differences are not discerable to the average listener, anyway. I just think the science is interesting, and it may open the eyes of some hardcore vinyl snobs out there that insist one format is vastly superior to the other.

I think emotion and how we perceive the sound we are hearing is a big part of it, hence why some thing vinyl sounds better, and why some think cd's sound better.

eddiec

What it really comes down to is your system. To hear any of the differences the article talks about you first need to throw down some major cash on a set of speakers.

Of The Aggie

Very interesting article. I still have all my CDs and don't plan to get rid of them. I do love listening to vinyl and yeah it's more about the experience. I don't have very discerning ears for the subtle differences so I don't even pretend to care about that. I can barely tell the difference in the different bit rates of MP3s!

Zod

I think CD quality is pretty good. I turned most of my collection into FLAC so I don't actually use the physical cd's anymore. But the sound quality is really good. It's flawless everytime. There's no pops or distortion noise from used vinyl. That's why so many people ditch records (and especially tapes) for CD. CD was as huge for music as DVD was for video.

Even with the recent wave of high quality portable music players, I think the difference between cd quality and HD flac is minimal. Those players (to me) are about the higher quality DAC which make any music played through it sound better than a smartphone. You don't need HD Flac to benefit from a high end music player.

That being said I still have vinyl. My collection is medium sized (about 200 records) but I still love playing them, and some of them sound fantasic when compared to the CD. I guess it's all a mixed bag. Current mixing/mastering methods crank up the loudness on everything. Naturally albums who had their mixes done decades ago sound really good. Sometimes in modern times the loud mix gets release on cd, but the vinyl gets its own mix.

Both CD and Vinyl are victims of their source. I cringe every time I see an album is being remastered. I'd rather listen to the original.

MedozK

Zod said:

Both CD and Vinyl are victims of their source. I cringe every time I see an album is being remastered. I'd rather listen to the original.

I agree, very few remasters get it right. A good example however are the new RUSH remasters... WOW they sound good.... (if you like Rush)

weddingparade

cd's for me all the way. i'm totally addicted.
don't need a pono, flac hd, or a $2000 stereo system either and i'm a hardcore music fan.
i buy a few colored vinyl cause they look so nice and already have a great old record collection.
i will never be able to own digital only files cause i gotta hold something in my hand and i still love the booklets, pictures etc

evsgjamm

Love the article.

When I went shopping / sampling around for my Hi-Fi system, I shit-you-not, 86.919% of the time, the dudes (why were there ever no chicks???) at the stores played me a CD over a high quality D.A.C. when testing out speakers & amps. And holy freaky frogs balls, them systems sounded great. Albeit, the price tag on a high quality DAC (Digital Audio Converter) was over $1000 and I was mainly interested in buying a turntable, speakers and an amp first. I've got all that and now I'm beginning to process the functions of this great amp I bought. I need to use it for more stuff - cue my old 90's CD collection!!!! (which has been sealed and taped up in big CD stands, wrapped in black garbage bags during our last move 3 years ago.) I've had to tear into it to find some old CD's for some info I was trying to find quite a few times, but ya... them shits are locked up now and the old vinyl collection is back in the living room, next to my sweet sweet system: Arcam a19 integrated amp, music hall mmf 2.2 le turntable, Tannoy Revolution DC4, custom-made speaker wire.

Viva la medium of your choice. Fuck.... just doesn't have the ring to it. Viva la Vinyl.

HesCalledDyer

MedozK said:

Zod said:

Both CD and Vinyl are victims of their source. I cringe every time I see an album is being remastered. I'd rather listen to the original.

I agree, very few remasters get it right. A good example however are the new RUSH remasters... WOW they sound good.... (if you like Rush)

My 2112 is finally arriving today. I've heard from quite a few that this is the best pressing yet. Gonna have to catch up on all their re-releases.

Zod

MedozK said:

Zod said:

Both CD and Vinyl are victims of their source. I cringe every time I see an album is being remastered. I'd rather listen to the original.

I agree, very few remasters get it right. A good example however are the new RUSH remasters... WOW they sound good.... (if you like Rush)

I've really been enjoying the new Led Zeppelin remasters. The problem with my old Zeppelin records is the same with any used vinyl. They were pressed decades ago and have been well loved. It's awesome having a brand new vinyl, mixed properly, that doesn't have a bunch of defects. I wish more albums remastered as well as the Zeppelin ones. I bought the Superunknown remaster, and I still play my imperfect original pressing more often.

broloco

I love vinyl and cd!
Just want to say while we are on the subject matter that as a product Vitalogy works way better on cd. It is actually a little" book". There I said it.